Inside Telecommunications PR with Verizon VP Eric Rabe

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This is an exclusive, uncut interview with Eric Rabe, vice president of media relations at Verizon about the controversy over free municipal Wi-Fi services and the issue of Net neutrality.

If you want bone up on how public relations is handled in the telecommunications industry, this is a great overview primer. Rabe is a seasoned PR specialist who knows the ins and outs of the gated internet trade.

SHOW NOTES:

3:57 – Eric Rabe talks about the direction Verizon is moving.

5:23 – Rabe on Verizon FiOS.

7:46 – Rabe talks about why the U.S. is behind in its network connection speed compared to other nations.

9:50 – Rabe on the difference between the use of DSL in the U.S. and Hong Kong.

10:20 – Rabe talks about the technology Wi-Fi and the ways to use it.

12:05 – Rabe discusses the controversy over free municipal Wi-Fi services: “…if the issue you're trying to solve is affordability of internet connections I think there are many ways to do it that are more efficient that having the government go out and try to build a telecommunications network.”

14:32 – Rabe on whether there are advantages to using Wi-Fi to deliver broadband to the public.

17:06 – Rabe talks about Verizon's partnership with Yahoo and whether it poses a challenge to the networks: “…there's no doubt in my mind that IP technology is going to be the way television will be delivered in the future. Verizon certainly recognizes that…Verizon is well positioned to be a leader in that developing world.”

19:07 – Rabe discusses the issue of Net neutrality.

22:23 – Rabe on how Net neutrality affects Verizon.

26:02 – Rabe responding to a question on how Yahoo can be both a competitor and a partner of Verizon: “…it's nothing personal, it's all business…we have a lot of respect for all of these companies, Yahoo, Google, MSN…”

26:53 – Rabe on the challenges consumers will be faced with when choosing their media over the next 10 years: “I think the big issue for consumers is sorting through what's available…its not just a matter of finding it and choosing stories to read or videos to watch, but it's also the issue of credibility and reliability.”

29:10 – Rabe offers advice to PR job seekers.

30:21 – End.